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What it's like to live with anxiety

31 December 2017

Below is a guest post from Nina.

What's It Like to Live with Anxiety?

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions
that millions of people around the world will experience at some point in their
lives. For some, anxiety will be a short-term problem, but for others, it is a
permanent issue that needs to be dealt with before the anxious emotions prevent
them from living life to the fullest.

If your anxiety is caused by financial troubles, resources
like mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org
might help. If your anxiety is caused by your job, finding a new position might
help. But if you have to live with clinical anxiety, the solution might not be
so straightforward, unfortunately.

What’s it really like to live
with anxiety? Continue reading to learn more, especially if you know
someone who has anxiety and you want to understand them better.

You Get Depressed

Living with anxiety often leads to living with depression as
well. This is because patients will try their hardest to calm themselves down,
but they just can’t seem to do it. It should come as no surprise that, when you
feel as though you can’t control your thoughts and emotions, you end up feeling
depressed. Many people find that they end up hating themselves, too, or they
start to think of themselves as crazy. And when depression strikes, these
anxious people want to remove themselves from social situations. By isolating
themselves further, they fall deeper into depression, and the anxiety could end
up getting far worse as a result.

You Feel Out of Control

In addition to feeling depressed, anxiety could also cause
you to feel as though you have no control over your life. As anxiety starts to
creep in every day, you might find that you can’t do the things that you used
to love doing, or you might restrict yourself from experiencing new things
because of the fear and panic that your anxiety causes. As you can probably
imagine, patients with anxiety might prevent themselves from applying for a
dream job, taking a risk in a relationship, travelling, and doing other things
that would otherwise bring them joy.

Even Little Things Become Stressful

The problem with anxiety is that it could be triggered by a
variety of things, and different patients will have different triggers. This
means that everyday tasks could become difficult. For some, even just going to
the shops could be an ordeal. Too many people, too many loud noises, and bright
lights could all make a normally easy experience more stressful than it needs
to be. Even just figuring out what needs to be purchased and then picking
products off a shelf could be an anxiety-causing task. If you have this level
of anxiety, you might just leave the trolley in the middle of the shop and walk
out, or you might become so overwhelmed by all of the choices on the shelf that
you end up breaking down.

You Find It Hard to Attend Social Events

Social anxiety is rather common, and it is the type of
anxiety that makes it difficult for people to spend time around others.
Individuals who have anxiety might be comfortable around a select few people.
But when they find themselves in the middle of a classroom full of students, or
when they are shopping at a crowded shopping centre, their anxiety could get
the best of them and they could start to panic. This could inhibit someone with
anxiety from pursuing a variety of job opportunities simply because they are
unable to cope with being around a lot of people all the time or because they find
it difficult to interact with strangers comfortably. And social events, such as
networking events, company parties and parties with friends, are often out of
the question as well.

If you feel anxious or depressed, it is really important
that you talk about what you are feeling rather than bottling up your emotions
and trying to get through it all on your own. In addition to talking to trusted
friends and family members, you could also consult with your doctor and/or a
psychologist to figure out the best treatment options for your needs. Before
long, you could start getting your anxiety under control, and that will put you
back in the driver’s seat of your life.